Content Gating
Is your content even valuable
March 10, 2023
Content Gating Policies
You seek to exchange personal data for the valuable content meticulously created, all while endeavoring to establish yourselves as thought leaders with authority in your space . Striking a delicate balance between these goals is really crucial, recognizing that trust is the linchpin for success. Without trust from prospects, even the most finely tuned gated content strategy may yield subpar results.
All gated content strategies are carefully tailored to engage prospects in the middle to later stages of their buyer’s journey. These individuals are delving into their pain points, seeking more profound and specific insights beyond the ungated content they’ve already consumed. Aligning the gate strategy with content mapping becomes imperative, focusing on the later stages of the buyer’s journey.
A rule of thumb emerges: the further a prospect advances in the buyer’s journey, coupled with the depth of the content, warrants a low-friction gate. Additionally, a friendly approach is key—gating everything risks annoyance and is often unappreciated, given the prevalence of disposable email accounts.
| Gated | Ungated |
|---|---|
| eBooks | Blog |
| Paid papers | Position Papers |
| Templates | Infographics |
| Online tools | Short videos |
| Training videos (Product) | Training videos (Awareness) |
| Live or Paid webinars with Q&A | Recorded webinars without Q&A (Fluffy-er) |
| Community Sites | Customer stories |
| Evaluations & Trials | Product cheat sheets |
Whether content is gated or not, each piece should include an option for the audience to subscribe for email notifications about upcoming webinars and an avenue to manage subscription profiles. A contingency plan, such as a “Contact Us” form and chat support on all their sites, ensures accessibility.
As you strive to establish thought leadership, a cautious approach to content gating is advocated. A gradual experiment is proposed: consistently deliver high-quality content over time to earn audience trust. Once trust is secured, the introduction of progressively more gated content aligns with the audience’s evolving journey.
Tracking plays a pivotal role in the success with limited gated content. Ensuring full UTM parameter support for robust reporting down to artifact attribution by company is crucial. With tracking all content on site abd within your CRM, you can now generate reports on content effectiveness without the need to gate everything. This streamlined approach optimizes a strategy while maintaining a focus on audience trust and engagement.